Adding to national debt is an inevitable fact of being President of the United States. The extent to which debt rises under any sitting president depends not only on the policy and spending choices they have made, but also the choices made by presidents and congresses that have come before them. Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush President Ronald Reagan increased the U.S. debt by around **** trillion U.S. dollars, or ****** percent. This is often attributed to "Reaganomics," in which Reagan implemented significant supply-side economic policies in which he reduced government regulation, cut taxes, and tightened the money supply. Spending increased under President George W. Bush in light of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. To finance the wars, President Bush chose to borrow the money, rather than use war bonds or increase taxes, unlike previous war-time presidents. Additionally, Bush introduced a number of tax cuts, and oversaw the beginning of the 2008 financial crisis. Barack Obama President Obama inherited both wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the financial crisis. The Obama administration also did not increase taxes to pay for the wars, and additionally passed expensive legislation to kickstart the economy following the economic crash, as well as the Affordable Care Act in 2010. The ACA expanded healthcare coverage to cover more than ** million more Americans through programs like Medicare and Medicaid. Though controversial at the time, more than half of Americans have a favorable view of the ACA in 2023. Additionally, he signed legislation making the W. Bush-era tax cuts permanent.

In 2023, the U.S. government had a budget deficit of 1.69 trillion U.S. dollars. This is compared to 2000, when the government had a budget surplus of 0.24 trillion U.S. dollars.

U.S. Government budget

The government budget is a financial statement that demonstrates the government’s suggested revenues and spending for the financial year. Budget surpluses occur when income exceeds expenditures. Budget deficits occur when spending exceeds income. The budget balance of the U.S. government has fluctuated since 2016, and is expected to decrease slightly by 2026.

Military spending

Defense outlays in the United States amounted to 714 billion U.S. dollars in 2020. It is expected to continue to increase over the next several years. The United States currently has the largest defense budget in the world, and is the largest employer in the world. The military budget funds the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force. The amount of funding that goes towards the Department of Defense is heavily criticized by Democrats in the United States, because they believe that the funding should be more evenly distributed towards other social welfare programs such as public health insurance and education.

Graph and download economic data for Federal Surplus or Deficit [-] as Percent of Gross Domestic Product (FYFSGDA188S) from 1929 to 2024 about budget, federal, GDP, and USA.

The United States recorded a Government Debt to GDP of 124.30 percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product in 2024. This dataset provides - United States Government Debt To GDP - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Graph and download economic data for Federal Surplus or Deficit - from 1901 to 2024 about budget, federal, and USA.

Ronald Reagan's performance as President, his health, and his age were a central focus of this survey. Respondents also were questioned regarding the nation's economy, their personal financial situations and expectations, their impressions of a number of public figures, the federal budget deficit, government spending policies, education, 'Star Wars,' cancer, American and Soviet spying, and major league baseball. Demographic characteristics of respondents also were recorded.

Summarizes the U.S. government's total outstanding debt at the end of each fiscal year from 1789 to the current year.

In September 2023, the national debt of the United States had risen up to 33.17 trillion U.S. dollars. The national debt per capita had risen to 85,552 U.S. dollars in 2021. As represented by the statistic above, the public debt of the United States has been continuously rising.

U.S. public debt Public debt, also known as national and governmental debt, is the debt owed by a nations’ central government. In the case of the U.S., national debt is owed by the federal government to Treasury security holders. Generally speaking, government debt increases with government spending, and can be decreased through taxes. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. government increased spending significantly to finance virus infrastructure, aid, and various forms of economic relief.

International public debt

Venezuela leads the global ranking of the 20 countries with the highest public debt in 2021. In relation to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Venezuela's public debt amounted to around 306.95 percent of GDP. Eritrea was ranked fifth, with an estimated debt of 170 percent of the Gross Domestic Product.

The national debt of the United Kingdom is forecasted to grow from 87 percent in 2022 to 70 percent in 2027, in relation to the Gross Domestic Product. These figures include England, Wales, Scotland as well as Northern Ireland.

Greece had the highest national debt among EU countries as of the 4th quarter of 2020 in relation to the Gross Domestic Product. Germany ranked 13th in the EU, with its national debt amounting to 69 percent of GDP in the same time period.

Tuvalu was one of the 20 countries with the lowest national debt in 2021 in relation to the GDP, while Macao had an estimated level of national debt of zero percent, the lowest of any country. The data refer to the debts of the entire state, including the central government, the provinces, municipalities, local authorities and social insurance.

By 2034, the gross federal debt of the United States is projected to be about 54.39 trillion U.S. dollars. This would be an increase of around 21 trillion U.S. dollars from 2023, when the federal debt was around 33 trillion U.S. dollars.

The federal debt of the U.S.

The federal debt, also called the national debt or public debt, is the amount of debt held by the United States government. This debt may be to other countries, or to different departments within the government itself. The public debt of the United States has increased significantly over the past 30 years, as it was around 3.2 trillion U.S. dollars in 1990 and surpassed 30 trillion dollars for the first time in 2022. When broken down per capita, the national debt amounted to about 80,885 U.S. dollars of debt per person in the United States in 2021.

The problem of the federal debt

Over the past decade, the federal debt limit in the United States has increased significantly. The U.S. debt ceiling can only be changed by an act of Congress which is then signed by the president. The raising of the ceiling has become a recurring political issue in recent years, especially during times when the Presidency and chambers of Congress are controlled by different parties.

The debt ceiling is a tool that allows the Treasury to issue bonds without congressional approval, allowing for efficiency in the way that the government pays for programs and services. It is thought to be further valuable in that it keeps federal finances in check. However, when the two parties are unable to come to an agreement on raising the debt ceiling, the government comes to a shutdown because they can no longer fund themselves. The Republican Party in particular often positions itself against raising the federal debt ceiling, characterizing themselves as the party of fiscal conservativism. However, analyses have shown that both parties have contributed to the country's debt in almost equal measures.

The United States federal government budget has allotted around 75 billion dollars toward its 2025 civilian federal agency information technology budget. As leadership and government priorities change, the IT budgets allocated to different departments tend to follow suit. The Department of Energy's IT budget increased significantly by 37 percent compared to the previous year, with 5.5 billion U.S. dollars allocated in FY 2025. Similarly, the IT budget of the Department of Homeland security also increased by 23 percent compared to the previous year, to around 11 billion U.S. dollars for FY 2025. Meanwhile, the Office of Personnel Management saw its IT budget shrink the most among the civilian federal government agencies, decreasing by a staggering 64 percent compared to FY 2024. Since the 2022 federal budget, figures do not include the portion of the budget allocated to the Department of Defense or other classified IT spending. U.S. government budget In the United States, huge shares of government expenditures go towards the Department of Health and Human Services as well as the Social Security Administration. Due in part to the country’s continually increasing budget, the government has run at an annual deficit since 2002, with its 2024 deficit estimated to over be around 1.9 trillion dollars. Cybersecurity budget One of the main facets of the U.S. government IT budget is spending related to cybersecurity. Over 12 billion U.S. dollars have been allocated towards cybersecurity in 2024. The Departments of Homeland Security and Justice have unsurprisingly had the highest cybersecurity budgets across all departments, given the sensitive nature of their work.

The United States recorded a trade deficit of 61.62 USD Billion in April of 2025. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - United States Balance of Trade - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

This poll, fielded July 9-12, 2009, is part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicit public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. Respondents were asked whether they approved of the way Barack Obama was handling the presidency, foreign policy, the situation in Iraq, health care and the economy, whether they thought things in the country were on the right track, their rating of the national economy and whether they thought the economy would get better. Respondents were also asked questions about the economic recession including how long they thought it would last, whether they believed the stimulus package made the economy better, whether the stimulus package would make the economy better in the future, whether the federal government should spend money to stimulate the national economy, whether it was acceptable to raise the deficit to create jobs and stimulate growth, and whether the federal budget deficit affected the respondent's family's financial situation. Several questions about health care were asked including whether President Obama would be able to bring about significant health care reform in his first term, whether respondents would favor government administered health insurance plans, and whether the respondent would consider public health care that anyone could join at any age. Opinions were sought about Sarah Palin, whether respondents heard about her resignation as Governor of Alaska, the reason she resigned, whether she would have the ability to be an effective president, whether the media was harder on her than other political figures, and whether respondents thought she would run for president in 2012. Other topics that were covered included, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, North Korea's development of weapons, Michael Jackson, the United States space program, marijuana, Barack Obama's Supreme Court Justice nominations, how the federal government should use taxpayer's money, how the deficit should be handled, personal finances, and job security. Demographic variables include sex, age, race, marital status, education level, household income, political party affiliation, political philosophy, perceived social class, religious preference, whether the respondent considered themselves to be a born-again Christian, and voter registration status and participation history.

As part of an ongoing data collection effort, CBS News and The New York Times conducted a series of interviews. The substantive common denominator in the surveys was a continuing evaluation of the Reagan presidency. Each survey also raised questions of topical relevance and/or broader social concern, including the following: Part 1: Government figures and race relations in New York City. Part 2: The space program, 1988 presidential candidates, the Iran-Contra matter, economic problems, and the Strategic Defense Initiative. Part 3: The Tower Commission Report and the Iran-Contra matter. Part 4: Ronald Reagan's speech of March 4, 1987 and the Iran-Contra matter. Part 5: Television evangelists, focusing on the PTL and Jim Bakker. Parts 6 and 7: Israeli involvement in the Jonathan Pollard spy case and the Iranian arms sale, and relations between the United States and Israel. Part 8: The Iran-Contra matter and 1988 presidential candidates with special emphasis on Gary Hart. Part 9: The Constitution, examining the operation, characteristics and relations among the three branches of the federal government. Part 10: The Iran-Contra hearings and testimony and actions of Oliver North. Part 11: The Iran-Contra hearings and testimony of Oliver North, Robert McFarlane, and John Poindexter. Part 12: Aid to the contras, the Iranian arms sale, the Bork nomination to the Supreme Court, and l988 presidential candidates focusing on George Bush. Part 13: Pope John Paul the Second and moral, social, and political issues facing the Catholic Church. Part 14: The role of parish priests and the current moral, social, and political issues facing the Catholic Church. Part 15: Arms control and Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork. Part 16: Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork and United States Navy ships in the Persian Gulf. Part 17: Business and industry in the United States. Part 18: l988 presidential candidates, social and economic problems facing the United States, and a comparison of the the two major political parties. Part 19: The campaigns of l988 Presidential candidates from each party, social and economic problems facing the United States, and Iowa's caucus system. Part 20: The Ginsburg nomination to the Supreme Court and his withdrawal, and respondents' opinions of factors that might disqualify someone from serving in public office. Part 21: The federal budget deficit, foreign trade, 1988 presidential candidates, and United States-Soviet arms control negotiations. Part 22: 1988 presidential candidates, and the re-entry of Gary Hart into the race. All surveys contain demographic information on respondents.

This poll, fielded April 5-12, 2010, is a part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicits public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. Respondents were asked whether they approved of the way that Barack Obama was handling his job as president, the economy, health care, and the federal budget deficit, what they liked best and least about Obama, whether they thought things in the country were going in the right direction, and what they thought was the most important problem facing the country. Information was collected on whether respondents approved or disapproved of the way Congress was handling its job, whether they approved or disapproved of the way their representative in Congress was handling their job, whether they had a favorable or unfavorable opinion of President Obama, how respondents would rate the national economy, and who they thought was mostly to blame for the state of the national economy. Respondents were queried on whether they thought that the government's stimulus package made the economy better or worse, whether they thought that the country needed a third political party, whether they would rather have a smaller government with fewer services or a bigger government providing more services, how they felt things were going in Washington, DC, whether they thought the federal government should spend money to create jobs even if it means increasing the budget deficit, and whether they would rather reduce the federal budget deficit or cut taxes. Respondents were also asked who they thought was to blame for the current federal budget deficit, whether they thought providing government money to banks and other financial institutions was necessary to get the economy out of a recession, whether they had a favorable or unfavorable opinion of the Republican Party, the Democratic Party, John McCain, George Bush, Ron Paul, Glen Beck, and Sarah Palin. Information was collected on what political figure the respondents admired most, whether they thought Sarah Palin would have the ability to be an effective president, whether they thought President Obama understands the need and problems of people like themselves, whether respondents thought he was more of a liberal, a moderate, or a conservative, whether they thought his policies were moving the country more towards socialism, whether they thought he favored a particular race over another, and whether they thought the Obama Administration had raised or lowered taxes for most Americans. Respondents were asked whether they thought that the federal government should require nearly all Americans to have health insurance, whether they thought it would be a good idea to raise income taxes on households that make more than $250,000 a year in order to help provide health insurance for people who do not already have it, whether they approved or disapproved of requiring health insurance companies to cover anyone who applies regardless of whether they have an existing medical condition, and whether they thought that the programs such as Social Security and Medicare are worth the cost of those programs for taxpayers. Respondents were queried on whether they thought legal immigration into the United States should be kept at its presents level, increased, or decreased, how serious a problem they thought illegal immigration was, whether they thought that global warming was causing a serious environmental problem, whether they thought gay couples should be allowed to marry, whether they thought abortion should be legal, whether they thought gun control law should be made more strict, what socialism means to them, and whether they thought it was ever justified for citizens to take violent action against the government. Respondents were also asked a number of questions about the Tea Party movement, including how much have they heard about it, whether they had a favorable opinion of it, whether they supported it, and whether they thought the Tea Party movement generally reflected the views of most Americans. Finally, respondents were asked if they were ever active in a political campaign, whether they purchased gold bars or coins in the past year, what political party they usually vote for, what news network they watched most, how concerned were they that they or someone in their household would lose their job in the next year, whe

The U.S. goods trade deficit with China increased by nearly ** billion U.S. dollars in 2024, as China still had the biggest impact on U.S. bilateral trade. This is according to seasonally adjusted trade date from within the United States. Following the results of the U.S. elections in 2024, discussions surfaced on the potential of tariffs for countries that have a large trade surplus with the United States. The president-elect stated that trade tariffs of ** percent and ** percent might be implemented for goods from China or Mexico, respectively. The effects of such measures on the forecast GDP growth across the world were not yet clear. In Europe, however, Germany might be the most affected economy when the U.S. does implement tariffs.

As part of an ongoing data collection effort, CBS News and The New York Times conducted a series of interviews. The substantive common denominator in the surveys was a continuing evaluation of the Reagan presidency. Each survey also raised questions of topical relevance and/or broader social concern, including the following: Part 1: Government figures and race relations in New York City. Part 2: The space program, 1988 presidential candidates, the Iran-Contra matter, economic problems, and the Strategic Defense Initiative. Part 3: The Tower Commission Report and the Iran-Contra matter. Part 4: Ronald Reagan's speech of March 4, 1987 and the Iran-Contra matter. Part 5: Television evangelists, focusing on the PTL and Jim Bakker. Parts 6 and 7: Israeli involvement in the Jonathan Pollard spy case and the Iranian arms sale, and relations between the United States and Israel. Part 8: The Iran-Contra matter and 1988 presidential candidates with special emphasis on Gary Hart. Part 9: The Constitution, examining the operation, characteristics and relations among the three branches of the federal government. Part 10: The Iran-Contra hearings and testimony and actions of Oliver North. Part 11: The Iran-Contra hearings and testimony of Oliver North, Robert McFarlane, and John Poindexter. Part 12: Aid to the contras, the Iranian arms sale, the Bork nomination to the Supreme Court, and l988 presidential candidates focusing on George Bush. Part 13: Pope John Paul the Second and moral, social, and political issues facing the Catholic Church. Part 14: The role of parish priests and the current moral, social, and political issues facing the Catholic Church. Part 15: Arms control and Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork. Part 16: Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork and United States Navy ships in the Persian Gulf. Part 17: Business and industry in the United States. Part 18: l988 presidential candidates, social and economic problems facing the United States, and a comparison of the the two major political parties. Part 19: The campaigns of l988 Presidential candidates from each party, social and economic problems facing the United States, and Iowa's caucus system. Part 20: The Ginsburg nomination to the Supreme Court and his withdrawal, and respondents' opinions of factors that might disqualify someone from serving in public office. Part 21: The federal budget deficit, foreign trade, 1988 presidential candidates, and United States-Soviet arms control negotiations. Part 22: 1988 presidential candidates, and the re-entry of Gary Hart into the race. All surveys contain demographic information on respondents.

This survey, in addition to assessing the Clinton presidency, focused on opinions related to Japan. Respondents were asked about Bill Clinton's handling of the presidency, foreign policy, and the economy. They were also asked about Clinton's economic plan and about his political orientation, leadership qualities, ability to deal with an international crisis, and concern for the needs and problems of people. Additional questions concerned the fairness of a gasoline tax to reduce the federal budget deficit, and whether the government works better when the president and the majority of Congress both belong to the same political party. Concerning Japan, respondents were asked to identify the country that would become the United States' most important economic and diplomatic partner in the next century, to describe present and future relations between Japan and the United States, to indicate their feelings toward Japan, to consider whether Japan would be the number one economic power in the world in the next century, and to describe the current condition of the Japanese economy. Respondents were asked whether Japanese companies were competing unfairly with American companies, whether the United States, Japan, or Germany made products and cars of higher quality, whether Japan was more advanced in high technology, and whether Japan would achieve a higher level of technology in manufacturing than the United States in the next century. Further questions concerning Japan dealt with trade, protectionism, the dispute with Russia over four islands captured by Russia during World War II, participation in international peace-keeping operations, and the provision of military and financial assistance in response to requests by allies. Additional topics included the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Bosnia, Somalia, and immigration. The call-back portion of the survey focused on opinion regarding the American attack on the headquarters of the Iraqi Intelligence Agency in Baghdad in response to evidence of an Iraqi plot to assassinate then-President George Bush. Background information on respondents includes voter registration status, household composition, 1992 presidential vote, amount of attention paid to news about Japan and Russia, nationality of company that made respondent's car, political party, political orientation, marital status, religious preference, education, age, race, Hispanic origin, family income, and sex.

The statistic shows the national debt of France from 2019 to 2022, with projections up until 2029. In 2022, the national debt of France amounted to around 3.19 trillion U.S. dollars. For comparison, the Greek debt amounted to approximately 392.27 billion euros that same year. French national debt and developments in taxationFrance currently has one of the highest national debt levels of any of the world’s nations. Debt in the European Union’s second-largest economy is currently at around 97 percent of GDP. The cost of interest on the country’s debt alone comes in at over 1,600 euros per second; every man, woman, and child in France, of which there are 65.3 million in total, takes a share of just under 28 thousand euros of the debt.On 6th May 2012, the incumbent French President was defeated by François Hollande, leader of the French Socialist Party. The new President vowed to develop and change the tax system of France, announcing wide-ranging economic policies in a bid to balance the nation’s budget and right what he considered to be social wrongs. He pledged and supported the separation of lending and investment banks, as well as proposing sweeping changes to the French tax system. The introduction of the measure of capping tax loopholes at a maximum of ten thousand euros per year and questioning the solidarity tax on wealth, the annual direct wealth tax on those with assets above 1.3 million, were also part of Hollande’s proposals. The President has also signaled his intention to implement an income tax rate of 75 percent on revenue earned above one million euros per year. He stated the allocation of the revenue from this tax would be used to develop the deprived suburbs and to balance the nation's budget by 2017. France is a country brimming with big business and millionaires. The nation is home to the most millionaires in Europe; 2.6 million in total.

When gasoline topped $4 a gallon, opponents of an increase in the gas tax argued that prices were already too high. Now that the average price of regular gas has dropped to under $2.50 a gallon, the anti-tax environment that pervades Washington shows little support for increasing the gas tax to finance the upkeep of the nation's roadways and public transit systems. This no-win dynamic is frustrating to advocates who had hoped falling gas prices might reinvigorate the idea of raising the gas tax, which they view as one of the simplest, fairest and most efficient ways to pay for transportation repairs and improvements.The latest discussions about raising the gas tax come as the Energy Information Administration estimates that the average American household will spend at least $550 less on gasoline next year than it did in 2014, a result of lower prices and more fuel-efficient cars and trucks that can travel farther on fewer gallons.The last time the gasoline tax was raised was in 1993, and even that 4.3-cent-a-gallon increase was not initially dedicated to transportation repair and capital improvements, but rather was part of President Clinton's budget-deficit reduction plan. That revenue stream was redirected to the federal Highway Trust Fund in 1997. Back then, the 18.4-cent tax on every gallon represented about 16 percent of the pump price. If the gas tax had kept pace with inflation it would be 30.1 cents today. The Trust Fund now faces a major decline of an estimated $160 billion deficit over the next 10 years.

The statistic shows government revenue and spending in Italy between 2020 and 2024, with projections up until 2030. In 2024, government revenue in Italy amounted to round 1,032.87 billion euros, whereas government spending came to around 1,108.41 billion euros.Post-crisis ItalyGovernment revenue and spending in Italy have been steady at around the 700 billion mark since around 2008; in no year subsequent to this has the Italian government’s revenue or income exceeded its spending. This imbalance of the budget has led to a deficit.The shockwaves sent through the world in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis are still being felt on the Italian peninsula. The combined factors of less than impressive economic growth, not particularly rosy credit conditions and rising unemployment is having a significant impact on domestic industry, which is facing considerable financial difficulty. A further contraction in Italian GDP in 2013 was indicative of a rather bleak picture in Italy.Economic problems have not been helped by the political crisis the country has been experiencing. The political turmoil engulfing the coalition government, triggered in part by former Prime Minister Berlusconi and his party’s unrealistic pledge to end austerity, caused government bond yields to soar. After a protest mass resignation of MPs from Mr Berlusconi’s party, the Italian president intervened stating the nation’s requirement need for constant break ups and the need for a stable government. Business leaders in Italy have also voiced their concerns and warned that any new election would probably result in another stalemate leaving the future of the country uncertain and worrying the financial markets.